My Favorite Son
by Ramica
Summary: My first Splinter fic sort of! Splinter's final gift to his four sons. Four out of four. COMPLETE.
1. Leonardo

                            My Favorite Son

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Author's Note: This is a story idea I've had kicking around in the back of my mind now for some time I decided this morning to haul it out and give it a go. It will be a four part story and if you loyal readers have a preference on who you want to see next let me know.

Don't worry fans of Rama; I'm not giving Bond up to do this. I just wanted to write a story without Rama in it, as I haven't done one for a while. This is sort of new for me, as I've never done a Splinter story before. Hope you enjoy and please R & R Thanks.

Chapter One: Leonardo

Leo sighed it had been a long day and he decided he could use a little relaxation before going to sleep for the night.

He cast his eyes over his favorite books finally choosing one that he had not read for some time now. It wouldn't hurt to read it again he often found new insights when reading the same book over. Also it helped to refresh old views or he found as he aged that a different perspective might be revealed on some thing he had read before.

He pulled the book free and a small white sealed envelope fell out of the book to the concrete floor of his bedroom. Leo gave it a puzzled look for he did not recall ever using an envelope as a bookmark or even placing one amongst his books.

He bent down and picked it up flipping it over he noticed his name written on the front in large yet neat writing. Writing that was familiar to him and he recalled now where this envelope had come from.

Splinter had died a few months back, died quietly in his sleep it was just his time and even now it hurt to think about not having his Master around to seek advice from, to learn from. Splinter had meant so much more to all of them after all he had been both father and teacher, guide and guardian to them.

Leo had found this letter and three others in by Splinter's books and scrolls a few weeks after their Master's demise he had been looking for some thing that day and had found these in his search. 

Knowing that their Master had obviously wanted them to have the letters or why would their names be on them? Leo had handed the other letters to his brothers. Though at that time none of them had much felt like opening or reading them. The pain of their loss was still too fresh and raw. It hurt enough to go through the grief the mourning without digging deeper inside at that point.

They had all stood around wondering if they ought to and Leo had finally said that maybe they ought to open them only as each of them felt ready to, and if they wished to share their contents of what was inside would be entirely up to each of them alone.

Leo sighed wondering if he was ready and he felt that all though it might hurt a little now that he was prepared and he could deal with the contents inside what ever it might be.

With that decision made he used a thick green finger to open the envelope and withdrew the papers from with in.

Leonardo,

I realize that my time is growing short though how much more time I may have I do not know nor, would I want to. I only know that I have lived long enough and have accomplished a great deal with the time I had and am not dissatisfied with how it has gone.

I have lived long enough to raise all of you to maturity and I know that when I do finally leave this world and time I leave you four with enough skills to get by on and to survive whatever life may hand you in the future.

You may feel Leonardo, that you do not know enough to help your brothers when they may need it especially when I am gone but I assure you that you do know all that you really need to know.

Your heart and soul know the answers. Your mind has the intelligence. Combine the two and surely you can guide yourselves and your brothers along the right path, as you may need it.

Time, maturity and growth will also help you along as well giving you different perspectives. You though have always been older then your years my son.

You have always strived for perfection but never forget that in striving for perfection it is all right to fail or make mistakes along the way.

For such mistakes help guide us and true perfection cannot come without some stumbling or falling along the way. It is the mistakes we make, the trials we go through and suffer through which makes us better people.

We become stronger for those things and so they are valuable to us for past strengths born through hardship only help us to weather future hardship and turmoil. For that is where true strength, the strength of character, which will never fail you as physical strength may, comes from.

So our mistakes let us know that perfection like any goal must be obtained only through facing the challenge of being perfect.

You were always responsible and caring. You often looked out for your brothers even without being asked or told to as a child and you always strove to do what was right. Though even in the early years Raphael had a way of challenging you not wishing to play the games you had decided to play with the others.

Yet as often as Raphael has challenged you I know even then as a child that you still felt the burden of guilt when Raphael choose to go his own way and do something fool hardy.

You were born to lead the traits of leadership already showing before you were five years old and I took that and helped mold those traits, helping you to strengthen them for I knew your brothers would need someone when I was gone, that they could trust and rely on but I did not work alone.

For you were a willing partner my son. You practiced diligently, spending long hours focusing on your training, concentrating on each lesson and then you spent almost the same amount of hours plaguing and pestering me to learn more and do more.

You accepted the challenge that I gave you and I knew that the challenge I presented would not be an easy one but it could be both a rewarding experience and a burden to you.

Being a leader of others means often feeling responsible for them and you feel that responsibility greatly my son, and leadership is never with out a price. But in leadership too you must find a balance.

You must do your best to keep the others safe and to help them and guide them when they are troubled and seek advice but in the end Leonardo, you are only responsible for yourself.

You cannot protect your brothers from every injury and every mistake they make. They have their own lives and their own choices to make and in making their own choices they become responsible for their own actions and the consequences of them.

You are only there to lend assistance to them, as they need it. A parent must know when to hold back and when to let the child learn and this is something you may have to learn my son to fully help your brothers.

Responsibility also has a point where you realize you cannot be held responsible for another's actions. With this said maybe you could be more understanding of Raphael.

I would hope that you and your brother find peace and brotherhood in your later years. I would also hope that you would be able to set aside your differences and realize that the two of you are not as different as it seems. You are both more similar and alike then the other would care to agree.

I hope that you two would find a way to be friends with the passing of time.

I have something to tell you my son, and I wish that you do not share this with any of your brothers.

You were always my favorite son, Leonardo.

You seemed most like the child of my heart, if I could have had a son of my own flesh and blood I would want him to be very much like you.

Of all my sons Leonardo, you were the one closest to my heart.

For you followed closely in my footsteps, paying close attention to my instructions, sometimes a little too close I think, and you practiced far more then I ever asked or would have demanded of you.

You were the one devoted to being a ninja, of learning and achieving as much as you could of the art of ninjitsu and so you went further as a ninja then any of your brothers.

Your brothers viewed it only as something they needed in life. You my son took it to be so much more.

The discipline, hard work and the dedication you gave to your lessons has made of you a true ninja as well as a leader.

I am proud of you my son and every time I see you work out I am filled with pride that I have managed to raise someone as fine, as noble of a warrior as you have turned out to be.

I could not have asked for a better son then what I have in you Leonardo.

Bold, courageous and strong in the face of adversity.

Calm, controlled and skilled in battle.

You will go far and do well in whatever you decide to do and I wish you a long and happy life.

Splinter.

Leo smiled this had so much of his Master's wisdom and he knew that he could never part with such a special letter. He would put it somewhere safe where he knew he could find it again.

Those words had not hurt half as much as he had been expecting them to and truth be known he felt better for having read them. He even felt more at ease with his grief over Splinter's loss.

Splinter could not have given him a better gift then what he had given in these last few words of love and encouragement. Leo knew that nothing could equal or measure, or be as valuable as what he had read this night.

" Thanks Sensei" He whispered softly before turning off the light as he lay there waiting to sleep he felt that this letter was his alone and he didn't want to share any of it with his brothers for it was personal like the many talks he and his beloved father had shared while he was alive. It was something between him and his Master alone.

With that thought in mind Leo drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

TBC


	2. Donatello

                    My Favorite Son

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Author's Note: Please note that the order in which I write this chapters up might not be the order in which the turtles open the letters Splinter has left for them. Two turtles down two to go! Who should I do next Raph or Mike?

Red Turtle: You get your wish Donatello it is! YOU would ask for him! Don and I don't get along too well his technical genius scares me. Of all the four boys I relate and understand Don the least that is why in my fics he is usually in the background or puttering about in his lab. Off by himself doing Donny things. I figure Splinter himself probably didn't understand a lot of that due to the same problem. This chapter took longer for me to write then MOST chapters do. Don as usual for me was uncooperative. 

Oh well, hear it is and the last two ought to be easy.

Chapter Two

DONATELLO:

Don glanced down at the jumble of wires he needed to connect. It was delicate work but one that he was quite adept at performing with his thick fingers. It was something that he had done numerous times on countless projects. This was what he enjoyed.

His brothers all had things to keep them occupied. Leo had his katas and practices in ninjitsu, Mike had his cooking and writing, Raph had his brooding solitude and his need to take out his aggression on street punks and criminals of New York.

Don smiled he enjoyed his solitude too but he used it to stay with in his lab working on experiments, and projects. Doing his best to learn more about other areas in mathematics or science whenever he could.

He knew he wasn't much of a fighter; he was a bit of a pacifist at heart. Of all the weapons at the ninja's disposal he had chosen one of the ones that could do the least amount of damage against the foe.

 He finished the last few connections and sat back the next step would require the use of his needle nose pliers and he reached into the left hand drawer of the desk he sat at where he kept some of his tools and dug around in search of the pliers he wanted. His hand encountered a piece of paper and he withdrew it pulling it out of the drawer.

He looked down at it recognizing it almost immediately as the letter Leo had found in Splinter's room just a few days after Splinter had died.

He hadn't opened it at that time but now six weeks after his Master's death he admitted to feeling a bit curious on what Splinter had to say to him. He could use a few moments break he thought to himself as he slid open the envelope and withdrew the letter from inside.

Donatello,

Your inquisitive nature and interest in electrical gadgets started at a very young age an omen of things to come. You were ever interested in how things worked wanting to know the whys and how. You pestered me often with why? Far more then any of your brothers and often I was unable to answer your questions.

I think you my son must have been the first to learn that I was not all knowing but I did my best to find the answers that you sought for you and give them to you at a later time.

I would often find small electrical items thrown out in dumpsters and bring them home in hopes that they would work, most often they would not but they became in essence your toys for you would tear them apart to see how they worked and some part of you seemed to know what needed to be done to make it work. It was a natural gift and talent.

I did not understand this talent you had for such knowledge was quite beyond me but I felt I didn't have to understand it, to encourage it in you my son, for I felt no talent or skill should go wasted.

So I continued to bring you whatever I could find on my prowlings topside that might help you along, these included old books or magazines and any electrical item for you to tear apart often putting it back together in working order something I myself could never achieve.

You learned to read at an early age and where soon reading far above what I considered your level, and age group. You had shown great memorization skills when you memorized an old radio shack catalogue talking often of the interesting bits that could be found on any given page.

As you grew older, your interest and knowledge in this area also advanced and you started to take what you had learned and apply it to our own lives greatly improving our home and our lifestyle.

I well recall the day I learned you were planning to set up an advanced alarm system in the sewers as a warning to us. You tested the alarms in our lair. I turned on a lamp one night and was rewarded by a high piercing noise, which hurt my all too sensitive ears. I at first blamed Michelangelo as being the practical joker I felt it was something he had done. Only then did you come forward and admit rather sheepishly that it was your doing and not your brothers.

At least you were honest about it, and I didn't have the heart to punish you for startling me so when you had explained why you had done such a thing.

Since I did not have your understanding in this area I had to let you be and trust that you knew what you were doing. It was not an easy thing for me my son, but I could not tell you if what you did was wrong or not so I had to learn to let you use your own good judgment and have faith that your natural talent and skill would not cause some major hazard or problem that might put us all out of a home.

Often when you were having a problem you would come to me and we would talk Donatello, of course the most advice I could give you in that area was to check out books. However sometimes all you needed was someone to vent your frustrations and failures to and once you had purged you were then able to think of a new way to tackle the problem on your own. Which was usually quite the relief to me, as I would not have been much help to you otherwise.

I know my son that being ninja was not a part of what you desired, you seemed to ant to be at peace with the world around you. Living and letting live as it were you were not a dedicated in the art of ninjitsu but you learned it and then applied your skills to searching out dumpsters on your own, haunting the dumpsters at the back of electronic stores for the best selection of goodies you could find.

You might not have ever felt like much of a ninja Donatello, but a true ninja comes to the point where he accepts all life has value and killing is not honorable for them and they will not kill preferring to live in harmony with everything.

In this aspect my son you were always a powerful ninja because your gentle nature had instilled in you the true aspect of ninjitsu which usually is only obtained after many long years of hard work and training.

And of course when you learned Ninja often made their own explosives and potions you thought you had finally found a way to make your ninja lessons interesting to you. You trained yourself in this area as you trained yourself in others.

I was nervous of you using such skills for messing with explosives and chemicals are not the wisest of choices but once again I had to trust in you and you made some mistakes, learned from them and moved on.

So your knowledge and skill greatly benefited the entire family in more ways then one.

There is something that I am going to tell you now that I wish you keep to yourself and share with no one.

You Donatello, were always my favorite son, for you were the child of wisdom.

You took what little schooling I provided all of you and improved upon it learning more in your own time slowly becoming far more advanced and surpassing my teachings.

It is said the mark of a great student is that of the one who listens intently to your lessons takes all of them to heart and then goes and does one better then the teacher.

You did far more then one better my son.

 But you did not just read for knowledge you read for enjoyment enjoying the classical books Shakespearean Plays, the works of Dickens, or other books of that style were read quickly and then you would seek out a new one to read.

 Ever inquisitive you learned as much on any subject you could satisfying your curiosity and then retaining what you had learned to be dredged from your mind at a moments notice when something arose that required that little extra knowledge or skill.

It amused me to no end when your brothers would tease you about being a geek or nerd and then they would find that they needed your help in some area learning that having a geek for a brother was a good thing. You always came through for them and were proud to share your knowledge though you never held it over them for knowing more then they did.

We all benefited from your knowledge and expertise for not only did you provided us with a better life with your skills when we were forced to move you would spend the most hours and time getting the place up and running putting your free time ever to good use.

You insured that almost any new device that came out was at our disposal either by creating it yourself from spare parts or by finding and repairing one that had been junked not many people have the advantages you have provided us.

 Though you were never one to spend much time with your brothers, feeling more that there were other things you could be doing, you still spent enough time with them as to not be a total loner. 

You're gentle nature and kind soul made it easy for you and your brothers to get use to and accept one another on more casual terms while you were able to maintain your own projects and individuality.

For you were content with your lot in life as long as you had new things to learn and new things to build.

You my son were ever inquisitive, intelligent and resourceful and I never had any fear that you or your brothers would fall into some predicament that you would be unable to get them out of. I had learned to have faith in you over the years. 

Gentle and compassionate you were far happier learning and doing then you would ever be in hurting others. You knew what many of us take years to learn and some may never gain no matter how hard they try.

The advantages and the knowledge that you gave and shared with us so willingly were always appreciated my son. I don't want you to ever doubt that and my only wish for you my son I that you continue to grow along the path that you desire.

I always admired your skill Donatello and you achieved a great deal while improving our lives.

Splinter.

Don smiled he knew that his Master had never understood but accepted his choice in life now. He had often wondered if Splinter had been hurt by the fact that he had not been as interested in ninjitsu as some of his other brothers had been but now he knew the answer.

Splinter had accepted him for who he was and for Don that was the most wonderful gift his father and Master could have given him.

TBC


	3. Raphael

                             My Favorite Son

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Author's Note: Raph had two votes so Mike will be the last one in the story to go up. Raph was very cooperative for me I find him easy to work with it was rather enjoyable after doing Don. Thanks to those who have R & R.

Chapter Three- Raphael

He looked at the letter wondering if he ought to just throw it away. He knew he was a big disappointment to his Master. He couldn't do anything right, he had no control and he allowed his anger to get in the way of things not to mention all the other ways he was failure as a son.

With his luck it would be a long lecture the sort he often received from his Master or worse yet, from his own brother.

The simple fact that his Master had been dead for almost three months now didn't mean that the letter he held didn't have some lecture about his shortcomings and how his father had not approved of him yet again.

A part of him really did want to throw the letter out and forget all about it but something held him back.

" Ah what the hell, no guts no glory" he muttered to himself and with some trepidation and a sigh of resignation he opened the letter with a tip from one of his sais.

Raphael,

 You my son always managed to find ways to test me and any other that you saw as an authority figure. I believe it was not just testing on your part but an outright challenge.

 You were the source of at least half of my headaches; Michelangelo was the source of the other half. You consistently tested my patience and my well meant advice.

I was often forced to dig deeper and try harder with you my son for you never seemed to want to accept anything on face value. You wanted proof.

You hid behind a wall of cynicism and hatred and yet every once in a while a bit of the wall would come down and I'd see another part of you.

It was a part you never let show for long as if you were afraid by doing so it would make you seem weaker for having such emotions or feelings. A part of you that I wished you would show more often Raphael for it was a much gentler side then the cold cynic that you preferred to play.

Seeing that part every now and again always gave me a bit of hope that you were not so distant you could not be reached or as removed as you made yourself out to be.

You were always impressive in your fighting skills for you are very dedicated to the art of ninjitsu but I often had the feeling that you held back and did not do as well as you might have otherwise and I think a lot of that was that you might have felt that you were living in Leonardo's shadow.

A part of you might have felt that you could never achieve what he did, could never be what he was and so in effect you sabotaged yourself by not giving your all. I never wanted you to be another Leonardo, Raphael. I only wanted you to do your best and to be yourself my son.

Yet the competition and conflict between you and Leonardo was all too clear even from the early years. Many times I was forced to step in and break up your arguments before one of you did a serious injury to the other.

You longed to be accepted and yet often misconstrued what I said or did taking those things the wrong way. Sometimes my son you could be a little too head strong for your own good.

Your ever quick anger that boiled near the surface and your often impulsive actions made it difficult at times to get through to you, to reach you as I often longed to. These are the same traits, which Leonardo came to term your " irresponsibility".

I tried my best to help you gain control and a grip over these stronger emotions that raged in you. Never forget my son, anger turned inwards is an unconquerable foe for it clouds the mind and judgment. I'm hoping one day you will come to see this for yourself and start to learn to gain control over it.

I know a lot of your anger stemmed from our situation in life. I know that you thought often about your mutation and where it has lead all of us and what might be if we were ever found.

As a child you were often plagued by nightmares of such things even though I had not told you what might happen if we were found you seemed to instinctively know.

You have always relied on your instincts and hunches far more then your brothers have and I believe that this has helped you and them a great deal in your many battles and adventures.

I believe another part of your anger may have stemmed from what you may have considered as favoritism towards your brother Leonardo.

I have told him and now I tell you both of you are more similar in nature then either of you would care to agree.

Both of you strive for excellence, both of you wish to please, both of you are committed to the family and to ninjitsu.

Through it all though Raphael you would often act contradictory to Leonardo as if by refusing to stand in his shadow you had to conflict with him and be opposite of every thing that he was. To try and make yourself different form him as possible even though you still felt the desire to please me and gain my approval.

You would have pleased me greatly Raphael simply be being you and not hiding behind wall or a witty sharp tongue or even by playing opposite of what your brother was.

I hope that you and Leonardo will come to understand each other better one day and that you can finally set aside your differences and your need to compete against each other.

For Leonardo may need your help when I'm gone and it would be good to know that he can rely on you my son, to help him. I hope that you can do this for the family, for myself, Leonardo and for you as well.

I'm not asking you to change only to help when necessary and when needed.

Now I have something to reveal to you that I wish you not reveal to the others.

I know you often thought that Leonardo was my favorite but you were wrong.

You were always my favorite son Raphael.

For you more then the others were a true fighter and a survivor.

You would persevere never giving up and never giving in. Pushing yourself to keep fighting and going on instead of saying it's over, useless and we don't stand a chance.

It is this trait that helped get both you and your brothers out of serious situations, though in all honesty I must admit that your anger and impulsive traits often landed you all in trouble so it was just as good you had something to bail everyone out with.

No matter the odds against you, you faced them head on with all your skill and talent at your disposal. Relying heavily on your instinct to guide your moves and to avoid injury throughout the battle.

I know Raphael when all is said and done that the odds of you making it through any challenge that life presents you are highly in your favor with the traits you have shown.

This is also when your anger becomes an asset to you Raphael for it fuels you in battle and if you could just learn to tap into it when you needed and let the rest go you would be a much better fighter and warrior for it my son.

I know also that when all else fails your sarcastic wit can be a powerful motivator and you could encourage your brothers on in the battle with it alone.

Because you are a survivor my son the others too stand a chance to survive and make it out of any situation where you might end up over your heads.

Dedicated, quick to act, and the will to not give up against all odds you are truly a great warrior and a noble ninja my son.

I wish you well and happiness. I loved you my son.

Splinter.

Raphael smiled slightly and nodded. He never would have guessed that his Master knew him so well. Never would have believed it either if he hadn't been told or had seen the proof of it for himself.

Maybe he would see what he could do to honor Splinter's request not that he was too keen about being buddy, buddy with Leo. That just might be more trouble then it was worth after all.

But the rest of it he would think about and see what he could do.

After all he felt a lot closer to Splinter then he had for a long time.

That his father knew him so well cared for him so much meant a great deal more then he was willing to admit to, to anyone.

TBC


	4. Michelangelo

                                  My Favorite Son

Disclaimer: I don't own any adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Chapter Four- Michelangelo

Mike sighed admittedly he had never kept his bedroom all that clean but he was now missing one of his favorite comics and he knew it had to be buried somewhere in his room.

So he had started the rather unpleasant task of cleaning it up in hopes of finding the comic in question. He had already been at it for well over an hour and was only now left with one other place to look and that was under his bed where he happened to shove a lot of junk.

So he hauled out what was under the bed with a wearied groan and began to rummage through it.

While sorting through the many bits and pieces he had shoved under his bed at one time or another to save himself from cleaning when he could be doing something far more enjoyable then cleaning, he came across an envelope and was about to throw it into the garbage when he noticed the writing on it.

Good thing he had noticed it!

This was the last thing Splinter had left for him and he hadn't even looked at it as of yet. He tossed it onto his bed to read when he was done with the chore at hand.

Once he had found his missing comic he determinedly pushed the remaining junk back under his bed declaring cleaning was finished for the day and it was now time to do some serious reading.

He got up and jumped onto the bed when he noticed the letter. He picked it up it was five and a half weeks since his father had died but he felt that he ought to read the letter first so he slid open the envelope.

Michelangelo,

You my son almost equaled Raphael when it came to getting into mischief and wreaking havoc. Unlike Raphael you were able to sweet talk or joke your way out of a great deal more then he was ever capable of.

Whenever the two of you got together you were sure to be into or up to no good in no time at all. What one of you wouldn't think of the other one would and through just a little of ' I dare you to do it' sooner or later one of you would forego common sense and plunge right in to prove yourself to the other.

Not that you needed any added incentive or encouragement my son for even on your own you were a handful.

You had a boundless, unending supply of energy and I would often wish that you could give me just a bit of it so that I could manage to keep up with you and keep track of everything you got into.

You could wear me down and out far faster then any of your brothers. Raphael may have had his troublesome points but even he was no match for you.

Michelangelo, you were a hyper child and it often seemed to me that you were quite capable of being everywhere at once.

I could catch you climbing onto the counters to snatch a treat I was saving for all of you later and no sooner had I put you down then you would be off again. This time to try and entice Donatello into playing tag by stealing something he was working on and needed and running around the lair forcing your brother to give chase to retrieve it. Or perhaps off in some corner of the lair getting into some mischief that Leonardo was sure to inform me of.

How I often wished that you would apply just a bit of that enthusiasm to your ninjitsu lessons my son. Often instead of paying attention you would complain with how bored you were.

Or more often then not you would draw attention to yourself by telling jokes. Ever the class clown you did your best to ensure that lessons with you were always interesting for everyone involved.

I was often forced to give you a gentle rap with my walking stick to help you to focus and pay attention. You never took any offense to these gentle reminders and you nor did you change from what you are.

I recall one lesson where I set you all to some katas and had to leave the dojo for a minute or two when I returned I caught you doing an impersonation of me.

Impertinent child! I was torn between laughing and disciplining you for such disrespect towards me.

Raphael was much amused by your impersonation and Leonardo typically was of course displeased with your actions.

You could make me laugh and that was the problem Michelangelo in making me laugh I could not turn around and discipline you for your misbehavior you seemed quite aware of this fact and often seemed to use it when I had caught you in the act of some mischief.

Of course if laughter didn't work you had the skills and the charm to be a powerful negotiator my son. You would put on the most sorrowful expression and you would talk your way out of or down on punishment whenever you thought you could without making me angrier with you.

Being able to talk yourself out of trouble can be a good trait my son, and your child like innocent charm only makes you all the more believable.

I admit Michelangelo that you did provide me with a great deal of frustration and headaches but you also gave me much enjoyment and pleasure. You made me laugh often, far more often then I think even you are aware of.

Many times after you had pulled off some joke or prank I would manage to discipline you and then I would go off by myself and laugh in private over what you had pulled off this time. I could not let you think that I approved of your actions especially when I had to discipline you for laughter is a form of approval to a child.

I have something to tell you that I ask that you keep to yourself.

You were always my favorite son, Michelangelo for you were my child of laughter and optimism.

Nothing would ever get you down and keep you down. You looked for every silver lining on all the grey clouds that passed through your life and you were able to make the best of any situation you found yourself in.

I only hope that you manage to hold onto these traits as long as you live and not lose them somewhere along the way.

I know in battles when the others might be getting wearied or all odds seem against the four of you that you have rallied your brothers with only a joke or some silly comment lightening the mood and allowing them the chance to fight onward.

It is said that laughter has healing powers and if that is so then you are the best doctor I know of because you have held so strongly to making others laugh with you.

You my son are childlike even now as you enter your late teens and near true adult hood you have not let go of your child like ways you have somehow managed to stay youthful, innocent and carefree in spite of the fact that you also managed to become quite mature and serious when a situation calls for it.

I also know you have never shirked your responsibilities to your family whenever, however we needed you, you were there to lend a hand these things tell me that you are not as young as you sometimes act.

I have often overheard one of your brothers telling you to ' grow up and act your age!' instead of playing the family clown.

I don't think they realize Michelangelo that in truly giving up the joking and fooling around that you do for acting mature and responsible would be making you lose the best part of what makes you. YOU! I would not want you to lose the best part of who you are to satisfy others for that part makes you unique and special from your brothers.

In some ways that is also the part, which helps you, handle Raphael when he is more sullen and bitter. You have helped bring balance to him and have calmed him down when the rest of us could do nothing. True Raphael did not always accept you during those times but you never took his insults or abuse of you personally or to heart. You would shrug them off accepting easily that it was just a part of your brother's nature.

You were always creative Michelangelo striving to never do the same thing twice if you could only do it once and when you combined your creativity with your natural cooking talents then the whole family could benefit and enjoy your creativity.

You were sensitive, and gentle meaning no harm to anyone desiring only to live in peace and enjoy your life and often as we struggled to get by you would see others struggling and in just as bad of shape if not worse then us and if you could you would find some way to help them.

You were also the one to bring home many stray and abandoned animals longing to keep each one but I could not allow that we could not manage a pet and I feared if I allowed one that you would soon have us overrun.

Though after many years I did finally permit you to keep Klunk.

Michelangelo you were ever the most trusting refusing to see the bad in others, or hoping that the best inside of them would win out.

You are ever quick to defend any of your brothers if ever one of them says something against another, which is unwarranted.

Gentle, good natured and full of laughter I have no doubt in my mind that you will continue to bring much joy and happiness to those who know you.

Never let go of the child with in my son for that child brings much pleasure and enjoyment to the entire family weather they are willing to admit to it or not. I know you will never fail in life as long as you continue to hope for the best and believe in yourself.

Splinter.

Mike chuckled softly. He knew that it was true, including the part of all the trouble he got himself in and out of as a child.

Personally he liked knowing that he had made his father's life a little more enjoyable and that Splinter didn't want him to change those things meant far more to him then anything else ever could.

The End


End file.
